by J L Walker
Reesa set her glass on the table by the sofa then placed her hand on his face. In a quiet voice, she replied, “I love you too, Mike. I guess I never thought I’d ever be able to feel this way – to love someone, a man, the way I love you.”
He placed his hand over hers and closed his eyes, squinting so the tears couldn’t escape, then brought her hand to his lips. When he opened his eyes a few moments later, she was still looking at him. He kissed her tenderly, then wrapped his arms around her.
She rested her head on his chest, and held him. “Mike?”
“Yes?”
In a frail voice, she said, “I want you to make love to me.”
He smiled and looked at her. “Wow, you sure are full of surprises this evening!”
“Well, can we, I mean…am I not supposed to ask that or something? I’ve never…like, you know…well except for –”
He chuckled and shook his head. “If you only knew how much I’d like to make love to you.” He paused a moment. “But there’s no need to rush things, Reesa. We’ll have plenty of time for that. I’m certainly not going anywhere. We can make love when you’re absolutely sure you’re ready, okay?”
She smiled and nestled into him. “I am ready. I’m ready because it’s with you. I don’t think there’s anyone else on earth that could make me feel this way, or that I could trust enough to give myself to. Only you. Besides, I’ve wasted enough time.”
He squeezed her and sighed. “Reesa, Reesa, Reesa, why do I suddenly feel I’ve bitten off slightly more than I can chew. But, I guess you are the boss, right?”
“Damn right I am, and don’t you forget it,” she replied smugly.
They held each other in silence for a few moments.
“Well?” she asked, her head still resting on his chest.
“I think I need to ask you something first.”
“What?” she asked, looking up at him.
“Are you on birth control of any kind?”
“Well, no, I mean, you have something don’t you? A condom? I just assumed you would.”
“No, I don’t. I really haven’t had the need for any. I’ve not been sexually active in quite a while. If I would have remotely thought this evening would end with us making love, I would have definitely bought some.” He paused a moment, then tipped her chin up to his face. “There’s a convenience store on the corner. Do you think perhaps we should take a little walk?”
Reesa was grinning ear to ear. “Yes. Let’s go shopping.”
He stood up, and extended his hand to her. They were unable to keep from smiling all the way to the convenience store. Once inside, Reesa pretended she was shopping while Mike made his purchase. When he had finished, she met him at the door and they laughed as they walked hand in hand down the sidewalk and back to his apartment.
Upon entering his foyer, he led her down the hall to his bedroom where he immediately scooped her into his arms and kissed her intensely.
He finally stopped and whispered in her ear. “Come here.” He guided her to the edge of the bed and sat down beside her. Then he held her face in his hand and looked deep into her eyes. “Hey, I don’t want to do anything you don’t want me to do. If at any time you want me to stop, just say the word and I’ll stop, okay?”
“I will, but I really don’t know how to do this, you know.”
“Well, it’s been quite a while for me, so I might be a little rusty. I guess we’ll figure this out together. How does that sound?”
She smiled. “That sounds good.”
His lips brushed gently across her cheek, then trailed a path of kisses down her neck as he reached behind her, unzipping her dress to guide it off her shoulders with his fingertips.
She felt a tingling sensation on her skin as his fingertips grazed her shoulders and made their way down her arms. Unsure of what to do, she reached over and began plucking at the buttons of his shirt while he continued to gently caressed her arms and trace a line of delicate kisses down the side of her neck. She began trembling at his touch and abandoned the buttons to tilted her head back and enjoy the warmth of his tongue as he nibbled his way down to her shoulder.
He abruptly stopped and looked at her. “Are you okay? I can feel you trembling.”
She swallowed, finding it difficult to speak. “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied in a faint whisper.
His lips slowly wandered from her neck to her lips, claiming them greedily. She felt consumed in warmth and desire. When his hand lingered under her dress and along the inside of her leg, she inhaled sharply, halting their kiss.
He paused and glanced at her questioningly.
She replied by placing her hand on the side of his face and tenderly kissed the corner of his lips.
He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were closed as he sat there motionless, basking in her touch. “I want you so bad, Reesa,” he muttered.
Still holding his face, she began kissing him with desperation, encouraging him to continue.
After a few moments of intense kissing, he suddenly broke from her lips to focus his attention on his khakis. He quickly unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants, then tossed them on the floor. “Sorry, I needed to do that. You’ve brought on a certain affliction that was making them damned uncomfortable.”
Color rose on Reesa’s face when she saw the enormous bulge in the front of his underwear as she sat on the edge of the bed with her dress puddled around her waist.
Mike unbuttoned the remaining buttons of his shirt, ripped it off, then threw it on top of the khakis. He immediately returned to the side of the bed and took her in his arms, tenderly nibbling her lips.
She groaned softly when he deepened his kiss and pulled her closer until she was flush with his body. Clutching her waist with one hand, he let his other hand wander to the middle of her back, pinching and tugging at the clasp of her bra in a hasty attempt to unhook it.
He finally abandoned the task and stopped kissing her. Panting, he placed his forehead against hers and whispered, “I never was very good at that.”
She smiled and took a deep breath, then reached around to her back and unfastened her bra. After she had tossed it on the floor, she watched his eyes immediately rest on her breasts. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and crossed her arms in front of her chest to shield herself from his gaze.
“Hey, come here,” he said, drawing her into his embrace. “You’re beautiful, Reesa. Please don’t hide from me.” He tipped her chin up to his face and kissed her tenderly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she replied faintly, barely able to talk.
He looked into her eyes, holding her gaze, and gently guided her to the middle of the bed as she shoved her dress off her hips and crawled onto the bed beside him. He then began kissing the line of her jaw and slowly meandered down her neck and eventually to her chest.
She gasped when his hand gently caressed her breasts, causing a series of goose bumps to race across her skin. He stopped briefly and glanced up at her as she arched her back toward him, encouraging him to continue. A soft groan escaped her throat when his tongue began methodically circling her nipple, causing it to harden. He moved to the other breast, repeating the swirling motion until she was shuttering.
Her hands clutched his shoulders, holding him to her, as his hand recklessly slid underneath her panties. The tantalizing sensation of his fingers touching her delicately caused her to moan uncontrollably.
A moment later, the muffled noise of a cell phone ringing from the pile of clothes on the floor caused them both to pause. Mike rested his head on her breasts, trying to catch his breath.
She ran her fingertips gently through his hair while looking at him. “You probably should answer that. The verdict could be in.”
“Oh, shit! I forgot about that!” he said sharply as he lurched off the bed.
He knelt down by the stack of clothing on the floor, sifting through them frantically trying to locate his phone. Finally pulling it out of the back pocket of his jeans, he ans
wered it. “Hello…yes, this is Mike…yes, of course, I’ll be there. Thank you.”
Reesa was leaning on her elbow, watching him as he took the call. After he tapped the end button on the phone, he slowly glanced over to her with a glum expression on his face.
“What is it, Mike? What happened?”
“They’ve reached a verdict.”
She looked at him in astonishment. “Already?”
“Yup. We reconvene in an hour.” He was still squatting on the floor with a shocked expression on his face, unable to move. “I’ve thought about nothing but this case every waking hour of my life for the past six months, at least,” he said, shaking his head. “Hell, I even dream about it, Reesa. It never leaves my thoughts…except for the past hour. Crazy, huh. Thank you for that.”
She smiled at him tenderly, then laughed. “Are you going to court in your underwear, or are you going to get dressed before you head over there?”
Standing up, he set his cell phone on the nightstand and bolted toward the closet.
Reesa could hear hangers sliding across the metal pole as he tried to decide what to wear. “Just grab something and put it on,” she yelled as she slowly got off the bed and began putting her clothes back on.
As he was getting dressed, he began talking to her in a frenzy. “This is bad, isn’t it? This can’t be good. I’m not ready for this. God, Reesa, what if this is bad!”
“Calm down, Mike! It’s going to be fine. I think this is a good sign. Besides, I saw your closing argument. There is no way the jury can return a guilty verdict after that!” Once dressed, she sat down on the edge of the bed.
He walked out of the closet dressed in a gray suit, a black shirt, and a silver tie with bright blue stripes that was dangling around his neck. He looked down, then held up one side of the tie. “How’s this?”
She glanced at him, head to toe. “That’s perfect. You look perfect.” Her smile quickly faded and she looked down so he couldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes.
He sat down beside her on the bed and cupped her chin with the tips of his fingers, forcing her to look at him. “What’s wrong? You think this is a bad sign, don’t you.”
She shook her head and looked at him. “No, it’s not that. I think it’s a really good sign. It’s just...it’s just that I won’t be there to see you win, that’s all. Not only that, I won’t be able to see Adele’s face when she finds out she’s free – that she doesn’t have to go back to jail.”
“Why not? You can go with me. You were taken off the case, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be sitting right behind me in the gallery when they read the verdict. Besides, you were there for my closing argument. What’s the difference? I really need you there. I can’t do this alone, Reesa.”
“I slid in and sat in the back row, behind the media. No one could see me. It’s just too risky.”
“Oh, come on, Reesa. It’s a public building. No one can keep you out. Not even Judge Regnier. He wouldn’t do that anyway.”
She slumped her shoulders and tilted her head.“Do you really think it would be okay?”
“Of course! What’s Regnier going to do, kick you off the case?” He laughed, then continued. “He already did that! It’s over, Reesa. Done. Finished. Well, unless we have to appeal.” He put his finger on his chin and looked up. “I guess I hadn’t thought about that one.”
Reesa started laughing at him. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that, but I’m not really dressed properly anyway. I always wear a suit to court.”
“What you have on looks great. Well, not as great as what you had, or should I say, didn’t have on a few minutes ago.”
She smiled. “Okay. I’d love to go if you think it’s all right.”
“I do. I’m sure glad that’s settled.” He paused a moment, then turned his head to look at her again. “I do have one small request,” he said, holding up his index finger.
“What’s that?” she asked, smiling at him.
“Can you please try not to hit anyone this time?”
They both burst out laughing and she slapped him on his shoulder. “You are so mean sometimes!”
He held his shoulder as if he were in pain. “See? You just did it again! You are a very violent person, Miss Collins.”
Unable to stop laughing, she shoved him back on the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling him as they continued laughing.
After a few moments, Mike’s face suddenly tensed up and he stopped laughing. He took her hand and held it up to his lips. After gently kissing it, he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then he slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re here with me right now. I honestly don’t know how I’d cope with all of this without you beside me.”
She looked at him affectionately. “I’m glad I’m here with you right now, too. Thank God Megan texted me that you were giving your closing argument today or I wouldn’t have even known.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t contact you the last few weeks. You don’t know how many times I felt like calling you to ask you a question, get your opinion, or just to give you an update, but I knew you needed your space.”
A smile washed over Reesa’s face and she moved her face close to his, hovering over him a few inches. “Hey, let’s go hear a verdict. Want to?”
He smiled. “Yes. Let’s go.”
21
THE VERDICT
The courtroom was starting to get crowded when Mike and Reesa entered the room at 10:20 p.m. The number of guards had doubled. Two were standing by each exit and a few more were situated along the walls. Members of the press were also present in increased numbers, all trying to get the breaking news and hustle back to the television stations in an attempt to be the first to air the verdict.
Donna Farley was already seated at the prosecution’s table when Mike took his seat and the defendant’s table. He looked over and tipped his head courteously to her. She smiled and nodded back at him.
Reesa sat down on the other side of the bar, directly behind Mike in the public seating area. A few minutes later, a nicely dressed, middle-aged Hispanic woman sat down beside her. She immediately began shifting around in her seat, then fidgeted nervously as she searched for something in her purse. Her face looked tense and her eyes were starting to fill with tears.
Reesa glanced over and gently touched her arm. “Are you Juanita by any chance?”
Her lips twitched slightly when she answered, “I am. And you are?”
“I’m Reesa Collins. I was working –”Before she could finish her sentence, Juanita threw her arms around her and held her tight, pressing her check against hers. “Thank you so much. Adele told me everything you’ve done for her. You are an angel!” she whispered, then kissed her cheek.
They were still chatting quietly when Adele was ushered into the courtroom. Reesa glanced up and gave her a reassuring smile as she neared the defendant’s table.
Adele’s eyes looked fearful, but she smiled at her and whispered, “Thank you so much.”
After she took her seat beside Mike, he leaned toward her and began talking. Reesa struggled to hear what he was saying, but surmised he was informing her of the verdict reading process. Adele listened attentively, then glanced back at Juanita and tried to smile.
Juanita held her hands to her heart and whispered, “It’s going to fine.”
Adele forced a smiled and turned toward the front of the room just as the jurors were escorted from the deliberation room to the jury box.
Reesa began scanning their faces trying to get a sign, an expression, or anything that would indicate in which direction the verdict had gone when she felt Juanita grab her hand.
She squeezed it and glanced at her reassuringly.
A few minutes later, the courtroom grew quiet when Judge Regnier walked in and took his seat at the bench.
“All rise, this court is in session,” yelled the bailiff.
Regnier looked out at the
crowd in the courtroom. His gaze stopped briefly on Reesa. She thought she noticed a corner of his mouth tilt upwards as he tried to conceal a smile. His eyes then looked at the jury. “I’ve been informed that the jury has reached a verdict in the case of The People of the State of New York versus Adele Nicole Castillo. Is that correct?”
Juror number three, a woman who was serving as the foreperson, immediately stood up. “Yes, we have, Your Honor.”
“Please give the verdict to the bailiff.”
The bailiff walked over to her and took the envelope from her hand, then walked to the judge’s bench and passed it to Regnier.
Reesa began feeling light headed. For the second time that evening, she was finding it difficult to breath. She could feel her heart beating viciously in her chest when Judge Regnier adjusted his glasses, then slowly opened the envelope and began flipping through the sheets of paper. Again, she was attempting to read anything from his facial expression that might indicate the verdict. There was nothing.
He finally looked up. “The court has reviewed the verdict forms and finds everything in order.” He handed the documents to the court clerk who was sitting just below the bench.
“Will the defendant please stand and face the jury,” Regnier bellowed.
Mike stood up, followed by Adele who was visibly shaking as she rose from her chair. Her face appeared tense and she fixated on the clerk as she stood up and took the envelope from the judge.
Regnier nodded to the clerk. “You may read the verdict.”
The clerk took a deep breath, then began reading the piece of paper in front of her. “In the matter of The People of the State of New York versus Adele Nicole Castillo, we the jury in the above titled action find the defendant, Adele Nicole Castillo, not guilty of the crime of first-degree murder upon Victor DeWald.”
Mike immediately turned to Adele. Her eyes were closed and tears were streaming down her face as she stood there trembling. Momentarily losing her balance, she grasped for Mike’s arm. He pulled her into his arms and she started sobbing, burying her head against his chest. As he held her, he looked toward Reesa, who was holding Juanita as she cried. Their eyes met and they shared a brief smile.